What is the Importance of Content Marketing for Your Business?

These days, we discover new favorites and introduce our friends to companies we love simply by clicking “share”. This reveals the importance of content marketing.

Technically speaking, this form of marketing centers on creating online content that piques the interest of your viewers, spurring them to check out more about your business.

In other words, remember that incredible 2013 video of Jean-Claude Van Damme standing on two trucks moving in reverse, transitioning into a physics-defying split?

That was actually Volvo introducing its new line of heavy trucks. It went viral and boosted the company’s sales more than 30%.

Yet, the video didn’t market Volvo at all. We just saw the split.

Or, did we?

Today, we’re taking a look at why you should take a page out of Volvo’s playbook and use content marketing to give your own bottom line a boost. Ready to learn more? Let’s go!

1. Customers Want More

The internet has spoiled us all just a little. Now, if we have a question concerning anything in the world, we can hop online and search for the answer.

With so much data literally at our fingertips, the average consumer is doing more research than ever before.

In fact, studies show that 81% of consumers hop online and perform internet research before making a purchase decision. If they search for your company name, what will they find?

If you’re not creating content that speaks to your expertise, addresses their issues, and grabs their attention, you can guarantee that a competitor is.

The importance of content marketing cannot be overlooked when it comes to customer appeal.

Today’s shopper is discerning and discriminating, and to keep pace in this competitive marketplace, you’ll need more than just a solid product or service. You’ll need a hook, and a solid content marketing strategy can be just that.

2. You’ll Need It for SEO

Currently, almost 90% of B2B companies employ content marketing, and more than 75% of B2C companies use it. Those that aren’t on board yet are making plans to be, as 50% of business leaders want to expand their content marketing investment.

One of the main reasons why? Business leaders around the world are seeing the importance of content marketing in boosting their Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategies.

Put simply, your SEO strategy is how you position your website to appear as high as possible on user search engine results. For instance, if you run an ecommerce business selling watch bands, you want to be the first website that someone sees when he or she Googles “online watch bands for sale” or a similar phrase.

How do you get there?

Building Brand Visibility

There are myriad tactics you can use to improve your SEO, including formulas around keyword usage, link building, and UX design.

However, it all starts with improving your site’s visibility.

If you’re delivering content that’s shareable, relevant, and informative, people will start talking. Promote it across your digital channels, including your social media accounts, email marketing blasts, and website to improve its odds of reaching as many people as possible.

As your content picks up speed (and likes, and shares, and re-tweets, and comments…) you could see an uptick in your site traffic.

The key to lowering your bounce rate and getting them to click around on your content? Make sure it’s high-quality.

Take the time to create collateral that doesn’t just check off SEO boxes, but that’s actually helpful to your readers, and create it often. You’ll rank higher on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) if you consistently update old material and generate new content regularly.

If you don’t think you have the time or skill required to frequently create this level of professional material, don’t sweat it. Consider partnering with a content marketing agency that can do the legwork for you. These days, it’s easy to find a third-party company willing to take over the reigns, allowing you to focus on other mission-critical operations.

3. It’s a Low-Risk Way to Reach Your Audience

Before you invest another penny on a Pay-Per-Click (PPC) campaign or display advertising, consider content marketing first.

To run a successful paid campaign, you’ll have to invest a significant amount of money up front.

While the right paid advertising technique can equal big business, companies often struggle with finding the ideal marketing strategy that sticks. As a result, they go through multiple, costly iterations that offset any gains the ads bring in once they do succeed.

This is where the importance of content marketing really comes into play.

It costs nothing to publish a blog article or create a compelling Facebook post. As you maintain the content on your website, the overall costs are minimal.

You may find that your audience responds better to one form of content marketing than another. For example, your videos may see more activity than your social media posts or your blog updates.

Taking that into consideration, you can better understand how to focus your energy — and your dollars — moving forward. The best part? You won’t lose valuable company funds in the process.

Don’t Underestimate the Importance of Content Marketing

Now that you know a little more about the importance of content marketing, are you ready to jumpstart your next campaign? As you do so, keep in mind that the goal of this form of advertising isn’t to be as showy as possible.

Rather, it’s to be as beneficial, educational, and captivating to your readers as you can be. In the process, you may not even mention your company name, and you won’t have to — it will speak for itself.

To learn more about how you can succeed at work and home, be sure to follow our blog. We may not be pulling our hamstrings atop two moving vehicles, but we’ll entertain and inform you just the same!